Resources for Writers: The Writing Process

Writing is a process that involves at least four distinct steps: prewriting,

drafting, revising, and editing. It is known as a recursive process. While you are
revising, you might have to return to the prewriting step to develop and expand
your ideas.
Prewriting
1. Prewriting is anything you do before you write a draft of your document. It
includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and
gathering information (e.g., interviewing people, researching in the library,
assessing data).
2. Although prewriting is the first activity you engage in, generating ideas is an
activity that occurs throughout the writing process.
Drafting
1. Drafting occurs when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs.
Here you concentrate upon explaining and supporting your ideas fully. Here you
also begin to connect your ideas. Regardless of how much thinking and
planning you do, the process of putting your ideas in words changes them;
often the very words you select evoke additional ideas or implications.
2. Dont pay attention to such things as spelling at this stage.
3. This draft tends to be writer-centered: it is you telling yourself what you
know and think about the topic.
Revising
1. Revision is the key to effective documents. Here you think more deeply
about your readers needs and expectations. The document becomes readercentered. How much support will each idea need to convince your readers?
Which terms should be defined for these particular readers? Is your
organization effective? Do readers need to know X before they can understand
Y?
2. At this stage you also refine your prose, making each sentence as concise
and accurate as possible. Make connections between ideas explicit and clear.
Editing
1. Check for such things as grammar, mechanics, and spelling. The last thing
you should do before printing your document is to spell check it.
2. Dont edit your writing until the other steps in the writing process are
complete.

Introduction Strategies
Introduction Strategies
Excluding scientific and technical writing (which often has pre-established formats), most
other topics lend themselves to a variety of introductory gambits. Suppose the assignment is
to write a literary analysis of Vladimir Nabokovs novel Lolita. Below are several different
ways to start that essay. Please note that not all introductions would be appropriate for one
particular thesis or approach. But having a repertoire of openings at our disposal often helps
lead us to insights we didnt know we had.
Begin with a quotation
Although this approach can be overused, it can be very effective when you have an
appropriate quotation. That quotation may relate directly to the subject or it may be only
indirectly related (and thus require further explanation). Do not force a quotation into this
spot; if an appropriate quotation is not available, select another method.

"The novel Lolita," the critic Charles Blight said in 1959, "is proof that American
civilization is on the verge of total moral collapse" (45). The judgment of critics and
readers in subsequent years, however, has proclaimed Lolita to be one of the great
love stories of all time and one of the best proofs that American civilization is still
vibrant and alive.

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul" (11). These opening lines
of Lolita reveal the essence of Humberts complexity and compulsion, his saving
grace and his damning passion.

Begin with a concession

Start with a statement recognizing an opinion or approach different from the one you plan
to take in your essay.

Many critics have pointed to the unrelenting word games and puns throughout
Lolita as proof that Vladimir Nabokovs major concern has always been language
and art. Although these subjects certainly loom in all his works, a close examination
of Lolita reveals that morality the way people treat each other is just as major
a concern for him as language and art.

Begin with a paradox

A paradox is a seeming self contradiction.

By 1959 Vladimir Nabokovs novel Lolita had been banned in several cities as
pornographic. Today it is required reading not only in literature courses but also in
philosophy courses that explore the nature of love. Since its publication, the novels
subject has been recognized to be love, not lust; art, not perversion.

Begin with a short anecdote or narrative

When the original movie version of Lolita was released in the early 1960s, Sue
Lyon, the young actress who starred as the provocative "nymphet" of the title, was
judged too young to be allowed to see the movie in the theater.

Begin with an interesting fact or statistic

Joseph Conrad and Vladimir Nabokov two acknowledged masters of English

prose were not even native speakers of English. Conrads native tongue was
Polish; Nabokovs, Russian.

Begin with a question or several questions that will be answered in the paper

How could a book now acknowledged as a masterpiece not only of fiction but also
of English prose have been banned when it was published? How could a novel that
dealt with love and art be thought of as pornographic? Why would a society so
mindful of free speech as America ban any book in the first place?

Begin with relevant background material

Background material should be presented concisely and should be clearly related to your
thesis. A rambling discussion of material only remotely related to your main point will
confuse and bore your readers.

Although he was born in Russia and lived for many years in England, Germany, and
France before coming to America in 1941, Vladimir Nabokov is now considered
one of the great American novelists of the 20th century. This opinion, however, is
not based solely on his mastery of English prose. His novel Lolita has been said to
have captured the essence of American life in the 1950s better than any novel
written by a writer born in this country.

Begin by stating a long-term effect or effects without immediately stating the cause

It caused howls of protest from the guardians of public morality in the 1950s.
Indirectly it helped bring about both artistic and personal freedom in the 1960s.
Today it is a recognized classic of art and thought Vladimir Nabokovs Lolita.

Begin with an analogy

Like a hurricane that brings fear and panic along with its powerful winds, uprooting
trees and disrupting belief in an all-merciful God, so the novel Lolita swept across

America in the 1950s, bringing fear and panic that pedophilia would be loosed on
the land. Instead, the novel, like a hurricane, blew over trees of thought that were
not deeply rooted in American experience, exposing their gnarled premises while
helping to clear the way for the artistic freedom of the 1960s.
Begin with a definition of a term that is important to your essay
Avoid simple dictionary definitions. Create an expanded definition that explains how the
term applies to your topic and essay.

Every few years the ugly charge of "pornography" is aimed at some novel or movie.
Never was the term more inappropriately used than in the case of Lolita, yet the
taint of that word still lingers in the minds of many when they hear the books title.
What exactly is "pornography" that it should stir such feelings and be so hated? The
problem, of course, is that no one can agree on what pornography actually is. That it
has something to do with sex seems clear; beyond that, there is a chaos of opinion.
When the small-minded or special-interest definitions are pushed aside, however,
we are left with D.H. Lawrences provocative definition: pornography is anything
that "does dirt on sex." By that definition, Lolita is the opposite of pornography
it is a celebration of sex and love

Conclusion Strategies
In general, readers (or listeners) remember your Introduction and your Conclusion much
longer than they remember the points developed in the Body of your essay (or speech).
They remember the Introduction because that is what first caught their attention; they
remember your Conclusion because that is the last thing they read (or heard).
Conclusions, then, are important. For most essays or speeches, an effective conclusion
performs at least three functions:

It provides a summary of your major points (thus reinforcing them in your

audiences memory).

It provides a sense of closure (the essay or speech feels as though it is finished). A

reference to something from the Introduction often provides this sense of closure,
giving a sense of things coming full circle.

It provides a "discovery" for the reader by making explicit some idea that has been
implicit throughout the essay. This discovery might be the explicit connection
between your major ideas, or it might an implication of your thesis that you have
not yet discussed. In scientific and technical writing, it could even be a
recommendation for future research or stating the questions that have not yet been
answered by your document. Please note that this discovery should never be a
completely new idea, for ending with a new topic prevents the sense of closure and
makes the essay seem incomplete.

For every Introduction strategy, there is a corresponding Conclusion strategy. For instance,
if you begin with a quotation, your Conclusion might refer back to that quotation, or might
include another quotation by the same writer. If you begin with a concession, your
Conclusion might explain why the point you conceded earlier is less significant than it
might first have appeared to be. If you began with a paradox, your Conclusion might refer
back to that paradox

Avoiding Plagiarism
The best way to avoid plagiarism is to understand what it is. Then take steps to avoid
committing either accidental or intentional plagiarism. Before we define plagiarism,
however, there are three other terms that we need to definequotation, paraphrase, and
summary.
Quotation: A quotation must use the exact words of the source. If the quotation is relatively
short (usually fewer than 3 lines or 40 words), those words must be enclosed in quotation
marks. For instance,

As Steven Strang points out, Contrary to some popular notions, most writers do not
have full-blown ideas popping out of their heads like Athena (48).

Notice that the quotation is introduced (As Steven Strang points out), that the
exact words are enclosed in quotation marks, and that the page number is given
(using, in this case, the MLA style).

At the end of the paper, there would be a bibliographical entry that would give the
author, the title of the source, the publisher, date of publication, etc.)

Longer quotations are given in block quotations (see the quotations from Ed White and
john Edlund later on in this entry).
Paraphrase: To paraphrase is to put the ideas in a passage into our own words, usually
following the order in which the ideas were presented in the original. All major ideas are
included. Usually a paraphrase is a bit shorter than the original, but when terms or concepts
have to be defined, a paraphrase might actually be longer. Any paraphrase requires the same
kind of citation as an exact quotation.
There are only three good reasons for paraphrasing:
1. Translating technical material into simpler language for a lay audience
2. Paraphrasing because a professor has explicitly requested that you do so
3. Translating a poem into simpler language so that we can understand where the
ambiguities lie (and this type of paraphrase rarely makes it into our papers)

Summary: A summary puts the major idea(s) of a passage into our own words and
significantly shortens it. Once again, you must attribute the ideas to the original source.
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the use of someone elses ideas or language without acknowledging that they
were not created by you. This definition applies to ideas, words and unusual structures
regardless of where you find themin a book, on a webpage, in an email. Whenever you
include another persons information or wording in a document, you must acknowledge the
source and include a citation that will tell your readers where you obtained itotherwise
you are guilty of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is sometimes seen as intellectual theftplagiarism.
Accidental Plagiarism
Accidental plagiarism usually occurs because we do not understand the cultural
conventions of academic writing and citation. In most western countries, and certainly in
the United States, there is a very real sense that writers own their ideas and the words they
use to express those ideas. As John R. Edlund explains in What Is Plagiarism and Why
Do People Do It?:
There are two important factors that must be understood in order to understand American
concepts of plagiarism. First, in the English-speaking world, people believe that ideas
and written expressions of ideas can be owned. When an author writes down a particular
set of words and phrases expressing a specific idea, this author in effect owns those words
and that idea. Therefore to use these words without giving the author credit is to steal them.
This is very different, for example, from the Chinese idea that words and ideas belong to
the culture and the society and should be shared by all individuals (Myers 11). Second,
Americans believe that writing is a visible, concrete demonstration of a writers
knowledge, insight, and academic skill. Thus, to represent another persons writing as your
own is to misrepresent your own accomplishments. This is a type of fraud or deception.
[Italics and boldface added] www.calstatela.edu/library/research/IL10.htm (17 Sep. 2007).
Cultural Confusion: In other words, there are many cultural differences in the way people
use the ideas and language of others. In the United States, plagiarism is a serious offense.
So, in spite of what your own home culture says and feels about the use of others ideas, the
old advicewhen in Rome, do as the Romans doapplies to the use of sourceswhen
in the United States (and several other western countries), cite sources.
And if you are in doubt, always ask your professor, your TAS, or the lecturers in the
Writing and Communication Center for guidance.
Difficult Concepts: In addition to cultural confusion, at times we slide into plagiarism when
we are dealing with concepts that we simply do not understand, and it seems that the best
way to convey those ideas to our readers is simply to use the words of the original author. If
we quote those words and cite the source, we have taken a significant step in avoiding
plagiarism. But, unless we actively engage with the ideas themselves (e.g., paraphrasing

them in our own words after the quotation, summarizing them, or, better still, arguing or
supporting them with our own ideas and evidence), we have not successfully mastered
those ideas (but at least we have not committed plagiarism).
Botched Paraphrasing: Paraphrasing is the process of turning a source passage into our
own words. It is another way that we can unintentionally slip into plagiarism because we
end up using large chunks of phrasing from the original or using the ideas without proper
citation.
In any event, even if the plagiarism is unintentional, the consequences can still be very
painful.
Consequences of Plagiarizing
Plagiarism in the academic world can lead to everything from failure for the course to
expulsion from the college or university.
Plagiarism in the professional world can lead to, at the very least, profound embarrassment
and loss of reputation and, often, to loss of employment. Famous cases of plagiarism
include the historian Stephen Ambrose (accusations about six of his books have been made,
most famously about The Wild Blue) and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin (who ended up
asking the publisher to destroy all unsold copies of The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys).
Such plagiarism is often accidental, but its consequences are the same as for intentional
plagiarism.
Avoid Plagiarizing by Citing Sources
There are five basic rules regarding the use of information in professional and in academic
writing:
1. If you use the language of your source, you must quote it exactly, enclose it in
quotation marks, and cite the source.
2. If you use ideas or information that are not common knowledge, you must cite the
source.
3. If you didnt invent it, cite the source.
4. Unless your professor explicitly tells you to paraphrase, dont paraphrase.
5. When in doubt, cite the source. Doing so can only enhance your readers sense of
your honesty.
Reasons to Avoid Intentional Plagiarism

There are numerous reasons why people plagiarize (e.g., not having enough time to think
about and write the paper, wanting to get a better grade, feeling that the course is irrelevant
to their career plans and hence not worth their time or effort, insecurity about their own
writing ability, struggles with a second language).
But there are better reasons for not plagiarizing.
1. If you do have writing problems, identifying them early will give you plenty of
opportunity to improve your skills (e.g., working closely with the lecturers in the
Writing and Communication Center).
2. You will engage with the ideas and thus deepen your own critical thinking and
writing skills.
3. You will add authority to what you write by citing sources.
4. You will learn to question all ideas. Simply using the ideas of others prevents us
from questioning or judging ideas, and this approach can lead to a willingness to
accept ideas without question (a profoundly dangerous thing to do in any profession
or society).
5. Without struggling to understand, interpret, and argue with ideas, your own ideas
never develop fully, and you will tend to see issues superficially (again, a
profoundly dangerous thing in any profession and in any society).
6. You will learn to voice your own ideas.
7. You will avoid the penalties of plagiarism if you get caught.
Advantages to Citing Sources
1. You allow your readers to locate the sources of your information in case they want
to pursue it in their own research. After all, in the academic and professional worlds,
your research becomes part of the ongoing intellectual conversation about ideas. We
all stand on the shoulders of earlier researchers, and we all hope that others will
stand upon our shoulders in the future.
1. An obvious illustration of this standing-on-the-shoulders-of-others is found
in technical and scientific writing. Procedures and methods sections of
technical and scientific articles and laboratory reports provide readers with
information sufficient to replicate both the method and data described in the
document. That information is provided not only so that our results can be
verified but also so that others might refine our methods or build upon them
to make even more discoveries.

2. For documents in any field, quotations provide evidence for our assertions
and ideas for us to argue against. Citations show our willingness to have our
interpretations of those other works verified.
3. For longer papers in other fields, literature reviews provide the intellectual
context for understanding our contribution to that ongoing conversation
about ideas.
2. Your ethos (your credibility) is profoundly enhanced when you cite your sources.
Doing so proves that you are well informed about the topic and that your work can
be trusted to be accurate. Doing so also proves that you are honest.
3. As pointed out by scholar Ed White,
Every writer has his or her own intellectual identity, though most ideas inevitably come
from outside sources. A responsible use of sources recognizes that identity and
distinguishes clearly between what you think and what the sources think. It is no sin to
accept another persons idea. But you must interpose yourself between the sources and
your writing, thus making other peoples ideas your own through a process of critical
scrutiny.Ed White and Lynn Bloom (qtd. in an email from Ed White, citing the book he
and Bloom edited, Inquiry, Prentice Hall, 1993, p. 445).

Types of Plagiarism
1. Turning in someone elses work as your owne.g., a friends paper, a paper from a
fraternity collection, a paper copied from the Web, or a paper purchased from one of
those online paper mills.
1. Its crucial to remember that having permission to use something or having
purchased something does not make it your creation.
2. For instance, I own my car. I bought it and it is now fully paid for. But I
would be lying if I said I made my car. The same is true for a paper
purchased or borrowed from someone.
2. Creating the patch-quilt or pastiche papercobbling together paragraphs and
ideas taken from different sources.
1. Although research was required to find the paragraphs and ideas, our
active engagement with those ideas is missing

2. If sources are cited, then what we have is research notes rather than our
own paper.
3. If the sources are not cited, then plagiarism and fraud are in the writers
claim that the words, phrasings, and ideas are his/her own.
4. Ed Whites quotation above explains the difference between a research paper
and a patch-quilt paper (although he does not use those terms).
http://cmsw.mit.edu/writing-and-communicationcenter/resources/writers/conclusion-strategies/

Parragraph example.

Students who learn how to write well will earn better grades in most classes.
This is true because most instructors assign a variety of written assignments,
and depending on the class, these written assignments often encompass a

large percentage of a students final grade. For instance, all college students
seeking a degree will be required to take a composition class. In this class
alone, students will write five different essays. Furthermore, other classes,
such as history, psychology, nursing, etc., also require students to write
multiple essays. According to John Doe, a Professor of English at Aims
Community College, the average undergraduate student will write twenty-five
different essays while seeking a bachelors degree. This number increases
dramatically for students who go on to seek a graduate degree(s). Because all
students, regardless of major, will be required to compose a large number of
essays, it is important that they learn how to write well.